24/02/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | FEB 24, 2026

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Pundits warn Spurs of relegation

Silva savours ‘big win’ as Fulham down Black Cats

Ű BY CHRIS WILSON

to a side that has four draws and five losses in nine league games in 2026. But while the threat of relegation looms over the club, new manager Igor Tudor emphasised his confidence in Spurs escaping the drop, explaining that “these are good players with bad habits”. “They are good players, nobody can tell me they don’t have quality. We need to change (a) mental switch and have this mental sharpness to be in the game in the first to second minutes,”added the Croatian. The result leaves Tottenham in 16th after 28 games, just four points ahead of 18th-placed West Ham with 10 games remaining, and Tudor’s side will face Fulham in the League this week before a string of potentially tricky matches against Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. – The Independent

tion battle. Speaking on Sky Sports after the full time whistle, Redknapp called the game “a complete mismatch”, adding that Spurs could be relegated if they aren’t careful. “They (Arsenal) were so much better than Tottenham, it was like two different leagues. If Tottenham aren’t careful, they might be in a different league. “They cannot keep performing like this. They’ve not had a win in 2026,” added the former England midfielder. As mentioned by Redknapp, Tottenham are without a win in the League in 2026, while they have also exited the FA Cup at the hands of Aston Villa. And though they have advanced to the knockout rounds of the Champions League, that will be of little consolation

Ű BY REBECCA JOHNSON

Liverpool. It was not a coinci dence that they were the only team unbeaten in the Premier League when they played that game against Liverpool and we knew it. A tough place to come.” Regis Le Bris lamented a “tough day” as Sunderland slipped to their third successive league loss. After losing Nordi Mukiele and Jocelin Ta Bi to injury in the first half, the Black Cats started the second period well, having a great chance when Romaine Mundle blasted wide before Fulham’s opener. Le Bris said: “A tough day because it’s a defeat at home. Key moments defined this game. “We had the opportunity during the second half to score and just after they scored twice on set-pieces. “Probably our first half wasn’t controlled enough, we strug gled to find the right rhythm. We got two injuries, which didn’t help, but we were probably a bit sloppy, lack of quality with the ball and we didn’t control this part of the game properly. “The reaction at the begin ning of the second half was good, but it was a reaction and after that key moments. “Like in the Premier League you have, we had a strong oppo nent who then had the quality to score.” – The Independent of course I spoke to the players and they had the best two years of their life and are believing in it. The club is the same. If the club had said ‘we are not really con vinced’then it would be better to make a change. “But it is completely the opposite. The club believes, the players believe and of course I always believe in the team.” A banner raised in the Holmesdale Road end before the contest read “Opportunities missed – board inept. Fans disre spected – Glasner finished”. “I never disrespected any one,” added Glasner, who said he could empathise with the fans but wanted to put the campaign – Palace’s first properly in Europe – in perspective. “This is where I disagree. Everybody who knows me knows that I have a huge respect for everyone. I respect everyone and it’s the same for me. “I think they felt criticised. It’s important, we have the second best season (so far), yeah, fans can be disappointed. Absolutely. We are disappointed, we are frustrated and I think I’m the one most of all because I am so ambi tious. I always want more. “I said to the players I think maybe I pushed too hard and I take this criticism, it’s completely fine, but what was important was that they supported the team”. – The Independent

FORMER Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp has warned that Tottenham Hotspur are in serious danger of relega tion after the team’s embarrassing 4-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Arsenal. New manager Igor Tudor took charge of his first game as Spurs boss but it ended in a damaging defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze both scoring a brace to restore the Gunners to a five point lead at the top of the Premier League. And while Spurs briefly fought back to go level at halftime, the subsequent collapse and lack of threat in the second half will be cause for concern for Tudor, with the club now in 16th and in real danger of being dragged into a relega

MARCO SILVA hailed a “big win” after Fulham ended a three game losing run in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory at Sunderland. Following a lacklustre first half from both teams, the game sprung into life after the break when Raul Jimenez scored twice in the space of seven minutes, heading home from Alex Iwobi’s corner and then converting a penalty. Enzo Le Fee gave the Black Cats hope, also from the spot, but Iwobi sealed three points in the 85th minute with a cool fin ish into the corner. Victory lifted Fulham to 10th in the table as they became only the second team after Liverpool to beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the League this season. Reflecting on the match, Silva said: “Big win, we knew that it was going to be another cru cial game for us and it was going to be very important to come from some not good results for us in the Premier League. “After an incredible run dur ing January and December too, we wanted to bounce back in a place that has been very difficult for all the teams to play against Sunderland. “They just lost the last home game before this one against CRYSTAL PALACE boss Oliver Glasner does not want to “stand in the way” if his players do not think he is the right man to lead them to the end of the season. Evann Guessand scored a last-gasp winner to snatch a 1-0 victory over 10-man Wolves at Selhurst Park to ease pressure on the Austrian boss, who had ruf fled feathers in the fanbase when he challenged them to “stay humble” following Thursday’s 1-1 Conference League draw at Zrinjski Mostar. Palace secured just their sec ond win in 16 matches across all competitions, a much-needed moment of relief for the home support, some of whom had made their feelings about Glasner’s comments known in the form of chants – including“1 0 to the humble boys” after sub stitute Guessand scored in the 90th minute. “I say this too often,” said Glasner. “Crystal Palace is impor tant, so if the club believes that they will do better without Oliver Glasner, I don’t want to stand in the way. “This is what I wanted to express when I said I don’t know. If the players believe with a dif ferent manager they will do bet ter, I don’t want to stand in the way because I can’t do anything. “The players have to do it. But Ű BY RACHEL STEINBERG

Lucky escape

Slot admits Liverpool ‘got more than we deserved’ in win over Forest

Glasner ready to walk away from Palace

Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister (centre) celebrates scoring their first goal during the English Premier League match against Nottingham Forest at The City Ground on Sunday. – REUTERSPIC

Ű BY JONATHAN VEAL

serious, but he felt his back too much during the warm-up to start, he wasn’t able to to be 100% or even close to 100%. “After being in this League for six, seven or eight months, he now under stands that no matter how rich you are on the ball, that you need to be 100% at his level, so we decided not to play him. “We hope and expect that he will be able to be with us again next week, but you never know how things work out.” The result left new Forest boss Vitor Pereira “angry with football”. The Portuguese, who was taking charge of his first Premier League match since replacing Sean Dyche at the City Ground, took the game to Liverpool, swamping them with pressure and inten sity. “I’m frustrated, frustrated inside, angry with football,” Pereira, who watched his new side beat Fenerbahce 3 0 on Thursday, said. “But it’s time to keep the mentality, to come back stronger and with confidence to face the future. “The score, for me, was very, very unfair, but this is football. We need to keep the good things for the next game to rest and to prepare everyone.” – The Independent

It was a dramatic end as Mac Allister struck in the sixth minute of time added on after seeing his earlier effort ruled out in the 89th minute. Stefan Ortega saved Hugo Ekitike’s header and as Ola Aina tried to clear the rebound, it crashed off Mac Allister and into the net. However, VAR ruled that it hit his elbow and the goal was chalked off. “Since VAR is there, I always struggle to celebrate too much if I think there might be something going on,” Slot said. “You never know, if a ball is hit to a body, where it ends up. And apparently it ended up on his arm. “So it was disallowed. So then my emotions were, ‘OK, still not everything that could have gone against us this sea son has happened yet. Still one more to go.’ “But maybe fortune has changed as two or three minutes later, we thought we scored the winner again. They took a long time to check it, but this time, the referee pointed at a kickoff, which meant we won the game.” Liverpool were forced to change their line-up before kickoff after Florian Wirtz struggled with back pain during the warm-up. Slot added: “We don’t think it’s very

LIVERPOOL boss Arne Slot accepts his side’s performance in the last-gasp win at Nottingham Forest was “the worst we’ve played”. Slot’s men were woefully out of sorts at the City Ground, with former captain Jamie Carragher describing their first half display as a “horror show”. Yet they left with the three points after Alexis Mac Allister pounced deep into stoppage time, minutes after he had a goal ruled out by VAR. Slot knows his side did not deserve the three points as they were overrun by Forest, but felt they were due some luck. “The first half was really poor, the worst we’ve played until now, I think,” the Dutchman said. “But the second half was much better, we controlled the game much more. “The performance was, especially in the first half, not as good as we’ve had so many times this season. “But we’ve been on the wrong side of the score after a good performance far too many times and today, I think we got more than we deserved. A draw would have been a fairer result than for us to win it.”